 The Bible and document (Wally Shank/The Sentinel ) |
The Bible and document (Wally Shank/The Sentinel ) |
| By Joseph Cress Sentinel Reporter |
June 1, 2001 |
 Union Church senior trustee Foster M. Berkheimer, left, and Washington Fire Company honor member Richard Kaberle show where Kaberle spotted the relics. |
Tucked inside the dusty volume was a hand-written copy of the church constitution stashed there more than 175 years ago.
Were it not for the alert eyes of volunteer firefighter Richard Kaberle, this treasure trove might have stayed hidden and continued to deteriorate.
The church at 51 E. Main St. is the oldest public building in the borough and has endured for generations as a cherished symbol of Mechanicsburg's origins.
Its simple meeting hall has been a cradle from which other churches were born and a staging area for extras during the 1999 filming of the movie, "Girl, Interrupted."
Bricks replaced
A project is under way to restore the brick exterior, which was constructed beginning in October 1825 and dedicated on July 22, 1826.
Part of the work involves replacing more than 150 damaged bricks with ones salvaged from the demolition of old homes, church trustee Mary Mumma says.
A brick was removed Tuesday morning from just above the church cornerstone -- which is about 10 feet from Washington Fire Co. next door, Kaberle says.
An afternoon downpour forced the crew to quit work, leaving behind an opening in the wall that caught the attention of Kaberle as he walked past the church that evening.
Kaberle, who is on the Washington Fire Co. board of directors and who is an "honor" member with 40 years of volunteer work to his credit, says he peeked inside and saw something behind the cornerstone. Within minutes, he and a fellow fire company member took a closer look with a flashlight.
"It looked like a folder or a small book," Kaberle says. "We could not tell what it was."
The firefighters contacted Ms. Mumma, one of three trustees responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the building.
Paper crumbling
The next morning more bricks were removed from around the cornerstone by James Casey of Casey Brothers of Carlisle, the masonry contractor doing the restoration work, Ms. Mumma says.
Found inside were the remains of a tin box containing a leather-bound Bible about an inch thick and measuring "a little over" five by three inches. The "incredibly small print" was published by W.W. Woodward of Philadelphia, Ms. Mumma says.
Printed on the page introducing the Old Testament are the words "Translated from the Original Tongues with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised." The preface to the New Testament reads: "Translated out of the original Greek."
Protruding were two folded pages, yellow and brittle with age. Ms. Mumma says the "elegant, graceful script" is clear only in spots, enabling a reader to make out a word "here and there," including some names of founding church trustees and proprietors.
When trustees compared what could be deciphered from the pages with church minutes, they discovered they had found a hand-written copy of the original church constitution.
On the last page are the words "cornerstone. Union Church, Cumb. Co., July 22d, A.D. 1826. Clergy present: Rev. Alfred Heffelfinger, Rev. Augustus Lochman, Rev. John Winebrenner."
Senior trustee Foster Berkheimer is thrilled.
"It's like our forefathers were somehow reaching out to acknowledge our stewardship and the effort being made to further preserve the church," Berkheimer says.
He adds the church intends to poll trustees and proprietors on whether to return the old Bible and constitution to its original resting place in a protective box or replace them with new copies along with information on the 175th anniversary celebration of the church.
Trustees plan to hold a Service of Thanksgiving in Union Church July 22 -- 175 years to the day of its original dedication, Ms. Mumma says. The public is invited to the service scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
Mother of churches
Residents came up with the idea for Union Church in July 1825, Ms. Mumma says. In the months that followed, they raised $600 in "public subscriptions" to build the structure on a half-acre donated by Martin Rupp.
Over the years, Union Church has been instrumental in helping establish seven of the 11 churches in town by providing meeting space until the congregations could afford buildings, Ms. Mumma says.
Aside from replacing damaged brick, restoration included removing paint from exterior walls and repointing mortar.
By July 22, church trustees hope to repaint the trim and roof, replace the downspout and gutter and install new aisle carpeting in the meeting room.
A decision will be made soon whether to repaint or seal exterior brickwork, based on its appearance after restoration, Ms. Mumma says.
The restoration work is being funded by $22,408 drawn from church savings and raised through contributions from the public, church trustees and proprietors, borough government and Mechanicsburg Museum Association.
